In several regions of Russia, broad distribution of RNA-containing bee viruses was found at apiaries of honey bee Apis mellifera using RT-PCR. Detected RNA-containing bee viruses are transferred simultaneously with invasion of mite Varroa destructor and lead to mass bee mortality that results in economic losses in bee breeding. In samples of Varroa destructor, bee viruses DWV and ABPV were found. High degree of RNA-containing virus (BQCV, DWV SBV, ABPV, CBPV and KBV) infection was revealed: in the average, at least 50% for bee families with mite infection. In the bee families studied in this work, mixed infection with 2-6 viruses simultaneously was detected. Amplified fragments of viruses BQCV, DWV and SBV obtained using RT-PCR were sequenced and registered in Genbank.

Based on data collected from urban residents by questionnaire, the basic parameters of the genetic-demographic structure of populations of the three megalopolises, i.e., Moscow, Kharkov, and Minsk, have been calculated, including the migration coefficients and their dynamics in generations, the radius of the cities migration attraction, the parameters of marriage structure (the proportion ofinterethnic marriages, the level of intraethnic assortative mating, the marital distances), and the gene flow between the ethnic groups. It is shown that the representatives of the most numerous ethnic groups in each megalopolis have considerable amount of admixture. For Russians of Moscow, Ukrainians of Kharkov, and Belarusians of Minsk, the proportion of individuals whose ancestors were all born in the given city for at least three generations and belonged to the same nationality turned out to be very low (4.75% in Moscow, 1.83% in Kharkov, and 3.13% in Minsk). This finding questions the formation of a reference population in the megalopolis as a sampling of aboriginals of certain ethnic origins. In the paper, we justify principles of creating genetic databases for the population of the megalopolis taking into account the complexity and dynamism of its population structure.

Detection of the genetic markers determining a predisposition to pulmonary tuberculosis is a necessary condition for the warranted formation of risk groups in the populations. On this basis, the authors used immunogenetic studies to examine 60 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and 96 healthy individuals of Tuvinian nationality, who lived in the Barum-Khemchiksky District, Republic of Tyva. The microlymphocytotoxic test was used to determine class I HLA antigens and polymerase chain reaction was employed to reveal the specificity of class II HLA-DRB1 gene. The study revealed a positive association of HLA-B27 antigen and the specificities of HLA-DRB1 13(6) HLA-DRB1 14(6) with tuberculosis, which permits tuberculosis risk groups to be formed, by taking into account the immunogenetic data obtained in this district of the Republic of Tyva.

Polymerase chain reaction-RFLP was used to distribute two polymorphic markers (SNP) PARK2-e01 (-697) and rs1333955 located at the common promoter site of the PARK2 and PACRG genes in order to reveal assumed associations with the incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis in the Barum-Khemchiksky and Ovyursky Districts of the Republic of Tyva. No significant differences were found in the frequencies of these two polymorphic markers between the groups of patients with tuberculosis and healthy individuals, residing in the above districts, and between the total control samples from both districts. The total group of patients with tuberculosis from the two districts from the Republic of Tyva showed a significant surplus of heterozygotes in both study markers, as compared with the group of healthy individuals, which was also observed for the marker rs1333955 in the Barum-Khemchksky District alone. The observed features of genotypic distribution by the two study markers point to the influence of the considered markers on the incidence of tuberculosis.

Medical records and questionnaire data have been used to analyze morphophysiological (the birth weight and length) and genetic demographic (maternal age and marriage structure) traits in a sample of children with orofacial malformations (OMs, cleft palate and/or cleft lip) living in Krasnodar krai, Russia. The sample of children with malformations (including premature infants) differs from the control group in lower birth weight and length and a lower proportion of children with morphophysiological values close to the population average values, as well as a higher family exogamy level estimated on the basis of marriage structure in the parental and preceding generations. The risk of congenital cleft palate and/or cleft lip is considerably increased if the material age is over 35 years or, to a lower degree, if it is under 20 years.